A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.
Direction
Gans brings visual poetry to trash material — dragon tattoos as living art
Stunts
Mark Dacascos doing his own flips in leather pants, heroically committed
Costume
That red silk shirt. The full-body tats. 90s fashion crimes committed beautifully
Director
Christophe Gans
Mark Dacascos
Yo Hinomura / Freeman
Julie Condra
Emu O'Hara
Rae Dawn Chong
Detective Forge
Byron Mann
Koh
Masaya Katō
Ryuji Hanada
Yoko Shimada
Lady Hanada
Mako
Shudo Shimazaki
Tchéky Karyo
Detective Netah
Kevan Ohtsji
Takeshi Shimazaki
Debbie Podowski
Customs Agent
Jerry Wasserman
Chief Randall
Tong Lung
Shimazaki's Bodyguard
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Christophe Gans hated the final cut so much he tried to have his name removed — the studio said no. The French release is apparently 20 minutes longer and even more unhinged.
This was one of the first major Western adaptations of a seinen manga, beating Hollywood's obsession with anime by decades — and proving they had no idea what to do with it.
CA
US
